Also from Times Online are these images that demonstrate the evolution of a few of the many wild characters of Underland, from sketches and illustrations by Tim Burton and Michael Kutsche to their final rendered, costumed, and realized forms. (Captions in quotes are directly from the Times Online galleries. Potential spoilers have been omitted in this article. Go to the original galleries to learn more about the characters, their relationships, and the storyline of the film.):

"The first animated character Alice encounters is the White Rabbit. Here, a storyboard sketch is done as the first step in creating the scene in the film."

"The artists at Imageworks create a low-resolution version of the CG character and place it in the CG environment - low-res allows the animators speed and flexibility while working on the scene."

"Once the character animation is completed, a high-res version of White Rabbit’s performance is checked on a more detailed model called a pit render."

"The performance approved, the Rabbit gets his fur and clothing. There are complex programs designed to make hair, fur and fabric move and behave as realistically as possible."

"This scene shot shows the final product, with all of the high-resolution elements including a furry and clothed Rabbit, his computer-generated surroundings, the matte painting background, the effects of moving leaves - all lit and textured. Elements are combined by a compositor."

"Here is the White Rabbit as illustrated by Michael Kutsche."

"Knave of Hearts sketch by Tim Burton."

"Knave of Hearts illustration by Michael Kutsche."

"The final product: Ilosovic Stayne, The Knave of Hearts, in the film," played by Crispin Glover.

"Red Queen sketch by Tim Burton."

"The final product: Helena Bonham Carter is the tyrannical monarch of Underland. With her oversized head, fiery temper and propensity to scream for people’s heads to be chopped off, she rules her subjects through fear."

"The iconic shot of Alice’s first meeting with the Cheshire Cat, who’s grinning at her from his tree limb, begins with what’s similar to a storyboard sketch, using an assemblage of low-resolution character stills."

"The scene moves to animation, where the character is dropped into a low-resolution environment: the images are kept low-res to allow Imageworks’ animators to create the Cat’s performance without having a lot of data to manipulate."

"The biggest challenge is to create a realistic cat that can generate the trademark exaggerated grin. Here, the all-important hair has been added, ensuring it behaves as it should, where it should be, with the Cat now curled on his limb."

"Here, final lighting is added, along with a full-resolution environment behind the Cat, including the flora and atmosphere added for visual effect."

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Starting January 31st, several TV networks in the US will be showing some brand-new, exclusive footage of Alice in Wonderland. The promos will air for one week, and will be about 60 seconds long each. Here's a promo for the promos:

"We wanted to kick off our television campaign for 'Alice in Wonderland' in a big way," says David Singh, executive vice president of worldwide marketing for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. "With Tim Burton at the helm and a cast that includes Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter and rising star Mia Wasikowska, the film already has a passionate following. Fans are eager to step into the incredible 3D Wonderland that Burton has created and get a glimpse at what he's done with these brilliant characters, and we're ready to give it to them."

The "Dark Shadows" feature film finally is heading toward production later this year. It will star longtime DS fan Johnny Depp as "Barnabas." Director Tim Burton has completed the extended post-production of his most recent collaboration with Johnny, Disney's live-action/animated movie adaptation of "Alice In Wonderland." Johnny is starting to film "The Tourist" with Angelina Jolie. Variety 11-6: "Depp would play an American tourist drawn into a web of intrigue by a female Interpol agent (Jolie) who is attempting to locate a criminal who was once her lover." In the meantime, the DS script is being worked on and plans are on target for an expected 2011 release.

"After spending my early life watching triple features and 48-hour horror movie marathons, I'm finally ready for this. When you think of Cannes you think of world cinema. And as films have always been like dreams to me, this is a dream come true," Burton said in a statement in Paris today. The names of the other eight members of the Cannes jury will be announced in April.

"He's a magician," said Festival president Gilles Jacob of Burton. "We hope his sweet madness and gothic humour will pervade the Croisette," the celebrated seaside boulevard of Cannes, he added.

Some 20-odd films from all over the world will be seeking the coveted Palm d'Or at the 63rd annual Cannes Film Festival this year, which will be held from May 12th to 23rd.

"I didn't necessarily think 'Planet of the Apes' would be the best movie to remake, but I wanted to work with Tim Burton," said Wahlberg. "At that point I was choosing roles that allowed me to grow, to learn from great artists."

Originally a musician and a model, Wahlberg was not taken seriously for his film roles. Now, as an Oscar-nominated actor, Wahlberg has now been appreciated more for his performances. But even early on, the actor was entirely committed to his roles, such as the one in Planet of the Apes.

"I was committed 110 per cent," Wahlberg said. "It was like, 'Oh I'll just try this'. I was obsessed with acting, making movies, studying film 24 hours a day."

For several months, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp have been attached to a feature-length adaptation of the TV drama series Dark Shadows. But producer Graham King says we may need to wait a little longer. According to CHUD, King said that they're still waiting for a script. King didn't say much else, but it's possible that matters concerning Dark Shadows will become clear once Alice in Wonderland is completed.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

1. “Alice (Underground)” performed by Avril Lavigne2. “The Poison” performed by The All-American Rejects3. “The Technicolor Phase” performed by Owl City4. “Her Name Is Alice” performed by Shinedown5. “Painting Flowers” performed by All Time Low6. “Where’s My Angel” performed by Metro Station7. “Strange” performed by Tokio Hotel and Kerli8. “Follow Me Down” performed by 3OH!3 featuring Neon Hitch9. “Very Good Advice” performed by Robert Smith10. “In Transit” performed by Mark Hoppus with Pete Wentz11. “Welcome to Mystery” performed by Plain White T’s12. “Tea Party” performed by Kerli13. “The Lobster Quadrille” performed by Franz Ferdinand14. “Running Out of Time” performed by Motion City Soundtrack15. “Fell Down a Hole” performed by Wolfmother16. “White Rabbit” performed by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

According to the MySpace Music blog, most of these tracks are “re-imagining songs from the Disney classic.” The album will be an "inspired-by" compilation of songs, not unlike the Nightmare Revisited album from 2008 for The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Avril Lavigne will be releasing a song for Alice in Wonderland, aceshowbiz.com reports. The song is entitled "Alice Underground." The song will be made available in March, in time for the film's release on March 5th in cinemas.

Zap2It has provided a few images of the whimsical Alice in Wonderland press kit.

The press kit begins as a large book, bearing the poster of the film...

...Within that book are drawings and photographs of Tim Burton and Lewis Carroll. And inside of that book is a smaller book, with illustrations of the shooting locations and sets...

...This contains an even smaller book, with photographs of the stars of the film (Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter), and illustrations of the characters...

...Finally, inside of that third book, was a small key which worked as a USB. A very small note (which required a magnifying glass to be read) stated: "The USB key will take you beyond the gates of Wonderland and unveil the many secrets that await you." The USB key contained a new trailer and three new photographs from the movie.